What to inspect when buying Second Hand Bulldozer

[Randy88]

I always look to make sure theres not any dead fish inside the machine or stuck on the radiator, or high water stains on the inside of the sheet metal. I was at a sale one time and a dozer had dead fish inside the belly and also dead fish on the inside of the radiator at the bottom they were the little minnows, I first thought it was a joke and after looking at it a while it had been in a flood and had algea growing up under the dash and there was a waterline in the cab, not very noticable but it was there so it was totally submerged above the intake on the hood and they tried to clean it up as best they could but didn't do a very good job of it. After looking closer at the fluids and dipsticks they all had a white looking slime on them somewhere so all the fluids were full of water at one time and they tried to empty them out and flush them as best as they could but its doubtfull you'll ever get it all.

Over the years I've know of two tractors that went into ponds through the ice, a skid steer that went into a manure pit, a tractor that went into a manure lagoon, and several dozers that were submerged in ponds that were being built and all were bad news and the owners finally gave up and traded them off for someone else to fight with. I always reach inside panels that aren't normally taken off to see what I can wipe off on my hands to see whats not noticable from the outside or can't be reached with a pressure washer or steam cleaner. Just a suggestion for something not really thought of by most.

 

[CAT D8 N]

I thought you were kidding there when you said look out for fish....looool

 

[jullah2009]

check the engine condition and also check the drawbar pull also

 

[jullah2009]

also check the all beams also

 

[jullah2009]

inspection

check the drawbar pull, because if problem in engine it may reduce the drawbar pull.

 

[MECHTRONIK]

I normally start an inspection at the radiator check the condition of the coolant for colour strength and oil ingress. Black oil engine brown oil trans check for compression bubbling

Air intake next - remove filters and check for dusting - remove turbo intake hoses and check side thrust and end float

Check for excessive blowby check exhaust output under accelleration and under load

Stall out the trans in each gear and note engine rpm against spec
if high trans sus if low engine sus

check brake holds at full rpm

check hyd operation and listen to pump

check gear shifting and steering function correctly

check cab for dust and moisture leaks

Measure track pin and bush wear
measure chain height

do a bung magnet check

check engine oil for coolant and fuel dilution

check trans oil for burning

Run unit till at full operating temp and push dirt

These are the basic checks you should do before you can establish what the dozer is worth and weather you should consider purchasing the unit

 

[Deeretime]

fresh pait Always makes me suspicious maybe have a closer look

 

[Randy88]

question for mechtronic, whats a dung magnet check, maybe its just worded differently over in australia than the usa but am curious anyhow

 

[Deeretime]

i belive it measures the amount of body filler in the tinwork ect. I once knew a guy that filled his big scars on his skid steer with spray foam then bondo then paint. I felt bad even knowing

 

[DirtHauler]

question for mechtronic, whats a dung magnet check, maybe its just worded differently over in australia than the usa but am curious anyhow

bung magnet is a magnetic drain plug.

 

[Randy88]

dirthauler, thanks, thats what I thought it meant but never heard it put like that before.

 

[MECHTRONIK]

Randy88 don't get dung and bung mixed up or you are moving into dangerous teritory

Dung is camel droppings
Bung is a plug
A dung bung is a butt plug
I think that's how you put it in the USA

 

[Puffie40]

When you are about to look at a used piece of equipment, it would be worthwhile to look at a simular machine that is new or a bit out of your price range (Those would typically be in good shape). That would give you an idea on what the machine you are about to look at COULD be.

All the pointers in this thread are good, and here are some other thoughts:


Engine

Hold your hand over the exhaust and make sure all the cyilinders are running and the valves are intact.


Transmission:

If the machine is a powershift, shift into gear and see how fast the tourqe converter reacts. It should be relatively instantaneous.

If there is any rough terrain around, crawl around it and get it working. Watch for the transmission stalling or slowing down.


Steering clutches

Pull both levers back to stop the crawler. now let one clutch in and see how it engages by letting it in slowly. the track should start moving with no unusual behaviour (A bit of a deep "Grinding" noise as the clutches engage is normal).

Try the same test with the dozer deadheaded against somthing. the engine should drop in revs and almost stall.
If it starts spinning out with full grousers, that's even better! :drinkup


Tracks

Dozers in the sub-10k area will almost always have worn-out chains and/or undercarriage.

The chain wobbleing when you stand on it is never a good sign.

Have a friend or another spotter make sure the rollers turn when the machine is moving.

 

[Big Iron]

#1 oil samples of every fluid on the machine, this includes engine, hydraulic, trans, finals. oil samples will tell the internal workings you can't see. even if they changed all the fluids by working the tractor you will stir up enough the bad stuff and it will show up in the samples.
#2 a good mechanic (read qualified, not your best friends long lost buddy) to measure the under carriage, check all the physical operations of the machine and a good visual inspection.

 

[Randy88]

mechtronic, sorry about that, dyslexia must be back again, I never noticed that even after reading it several times before posting, its either that or bad eye sight, the inability to spell, but I'm blaming the computer mostly, it should have known what I meant to type and I'm sticking with that excuse.

 

[madozer]

Hi Guys,

I wonder how much $$$ a single-shank or multi-shank ripper adds to the price of a dozer. Does anyone have any idea?

Thanks in advance.

madozer

 

[Nige]

What size of dozer are you talking about..?

 

[madozer]

Say a D7G or a D8K... A ripper would probably be surplus to my requirements, so I just want to be sure it is not costing me a fortune when I am not really going to use it. I presume it is mostly used for tilling soil. Or could it be used to snap the horizontal roots of trees as well?

What size of dozer are you talking about..?

 

[John C.]

Since you are talking a used machine it is a little difficult to say a specific dollar amount. I tend to do my market research and just compare but a used machine can be anything as far as condition goes. Some people think a well used ripper indicates the machine has seen a lot of hard use while most rippers in construction machines only get used once in awhile and would indicate less shock and wear on the drive train. The one constant though is when you need the thing and you don't have it, they become priceless.

 

[madozer]

Hi John,

All I need is an estimate, or a ballpark figure, say 5-10k? If I am looking at a D7G with a ripper that costs say 60k, I just want to have an idea how much of that is due to the ripper, and how much the dozer would normally cost, without the ripper. That's it really.

Since you are talking a used machine it is a little difficult to say a specific dollar amount. I tend to do my market research and just compare but a used machine can be anything as far as condition goes. Some people think a well used ripper indicates the machine has seen a lot of hard use while most rippers in construction machines only get used once in awhile and would indicate less shock and wear on the drive train. The one constant though is when you need the thing and you don't have it, they become priceless.